I work on the bar of a restaurant in the UK. Tips are shared between all staff, so any money we’re given by customers has to go straight into a cup behind the bar, to be distributed with everyone’s paycheck each month.
Since I started working there, I noticed often the manager will ask members of staff to take money from our tip jar and use it to go buy emergency supplies for the bar, like lemons or whatever. It’s also used to top up the till if it’s down at the end of the night. One time I asked the assistant bar manager if any of that money is ever reimbursed to us or if it’s just gone. He just laughed. Is this normal?
Today during our lunch break, I was telling a new hire about this, and one of the restaurant girls tells me that management straight up just deduct 40% of our tip money every month. The head chef overheard us and explained that this money is taken to cover breakages and mistakes – but surely these things are just part of running a restaurant and aren’t supposed to be paid for by us?
This all feels pretty dodgy but I am not sure how to find out for sure, and what to even do about it.